Seniors Activist Runs For Teaneck Council --
Two Incumbents May Not Be In Race

By Joy L. Haenlein, Correspondent

(From: The Record, February 28, 1986, Friday, Page C-3)

Senior-citizens activist Lou Schwartz yesterday became a candidate for township council, amid reports that two of seven incumbents may not seek reelection.

One councilman, Andrew Edelman, confirmed that he will not run for another four-year term so he can spend more time with his business and family. A second incumbent, 24-year council veteran Bradford Menkes, said increased business demands may also keep him out of the May 13 election, when all seven council seats will be up for grabs.

"I'm trying to weigh the demands of another campaign against the needs of current business pressures," said Menkes, who is 64. "If someone could guarantee me that I could win without campaigning for the job, I would."

Four of the five remaining incumbents, along with three others, said during telephone interviews that they intend to file nominating petitions for the $4,500-a-year job by the March 20 deadline. Most observers expect the fifth incumbent, Councilwoman Eleanor Kieliszek, will also run, even though she said she is undecided.

"I'm still in the process of making my decision, but I've had very much encouragement from people in the community," said Kieliszek, a former mayor and the top vote getter in the 1982 council race.

Launching his campaign yesterday was 73-year-old Lou Schwartz of 41 Irvington Road, a retired New York City health and hospital inspector. The founding president of the Teaneck Chapter of the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), Schwartz has also been active in local Little League baseball, parks and recreation, and horticulture activities, among others. Supporters addressed.

"If you wonder whether I know about our government, I can tell you that I went to the best university -- many years of watching and participating in this government in this very room," Schwartz told about 30 supporters who gathered yesterday in the council chambers of the municipal building.

While Schwartz plans to run independently, the six other confirmed candidates have agreed to run on two slates -- primarily, they say, to ease campaign costs.

So far, the largest slate is headed by Mayor Bernard Brooks, who said he will campaign with Councilwoman Lucille Steiner and two members of the board of adjustment -- Thomas Boyd and David Lew.

"The four of us represent people who have been leaders in the community for a long time," said Brooks, 50, who seeking his third council term. Council members select a mayor from among themselves at a July 1 organizational meeting.

Backgrounds given:

Boyd, 39, is director of finance for a Wayne industrial firm. He has been on the board of adjustment for 14 years -- nine of those as chairman. Lew, 45, a nine-year board ember, is also active in local Jewish organizations.

Steiner, 50, is seeking her third council term. A former school-board trustee who was also active in the local PTA, Steiner also sits on the township planning board.

Councilmen Francis Hall and Peter Zeleny have also agreed to run for reelection together. Hall, 62, is a 20-year incumbent involved in community development activities, and also chairs the local substance-abuse task force. Zeleny, 57, is an eight-year incumbent and a former school-board member.

Candidates need petition signatures from at least 225 registered township voters to qualify for the ballot.